America Has Lost Its Way

The America in which I live today is not the same America in which I grew up. I realize that things will inevitably change with time, but I have to say that over the course of the past five years those changes have not been for the better.

In the America that I grew up in, we were proud to be Americans and we showed that pride by starting each school day with the Pledge of Allegiance. There was an American flag in every classroom, and we recognized that flag and our nation each and every day by reciting this simple verse. We thought that was a small price to pay in return for the freedoms we all enjoyed simply by being born in America.

We knew that our nation was founded by Christians on sound Christian principles and that the adherence to those principles had never failed our nation or its people, carrying both through some of the toughest times imaginable. We went to church on Sunday to pay our respect to God and to worship Him, another small price to pay for being the benefactors of His good will.

We were taught to respect other people, their rights and their property, knowing that we would garner the same respect from them. We knew in our hearts that this was the right thing to do, and we did it for just that reason.

We respected our elders, knowing that they had many valuable lessons they could teach us, but mainly because they were our elders. They were older and more experienced in life than we which meant they deserved our respect, and we knew it.

We knew that you could get anything you wanted out of life in this great nation, and that all you had to do was apply yourself, work hard, never quit, and what you wanted would be yours. It would be yours in every sense of the word because you would have worked for it, sweated for it, cried for it, and in some cases bled for it - but when it was all over it would be yours because you earned it. No one gave it to you, you earned it. And for that reason we didn't expect a handout, nor would we accept one.

We knew that our government was looking out for us and acting in our best interest, our President and the men and women on Capitol Hill doing the best they could to ensure that we and our country were safe, secure, and profitable. The needs of the people were placed first, ahead of political ambitions or personal ideologies and agendas.

We as a nation were the lamplight of freedom and liberty, a shining light of opportunity for anyone in the world who wanted to come here and better themselves. All they had to do was ask and we'd let them in; all they had to do then was apply themselves as we applied ourselves, and they would gain all that we would gain by the same means. They became Americans in every sense of the word, learning our language and our ways, adapting themselves to the new nation they now called home.

We as a nation were respected world-wide for our values and traditions; we were the ones the rest of the world turned to for help. And we gave that help whenever we were asked, because that's what America was all about.

This was the America that I grew up in. Sadly, however, it is not the America in which I live today.

The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited in the classrooms by the school children each day, lest it "offend" someone who is not of American heritage or birth. The flags, too, are gone from the classrooms. You may find a few here and there, but for the most part they've been removed for fear of "offending" a non-American.

The Christian principles on which our nation was founded are now the object of scorn, ridicule, and abandonment. Liberals nationwide have filed numerous lawsuits to have the symbols of these principles, such as the Ten Commandments posted outside of a courthouse or the opening of a high school graduation ceremony with the Lord's Prayer, removed and/or discontinued. Even the crosses on national monuments to our war dead are not safe, with liberal judges nationwide ordering their removal because a few liberal souls claim to be "offended."

Respect for others, their rights, and their property is almost a thing of the past. Instead of treating our elders and others around us with respect and dignity, our youth play the "knockout game" instead.

Hard work and dedication has been replaced by a sense of entitlement based on skin color, sex, religion, or ethnicity. Instead of working for something and basking in the glow of self-achievement and accomplishment, our youth today would rather stand indignantly with their hand out, demanding that which they think they are entitled to at the expense of others, simply because they were born black, or female, or Hispanic, or just because they can. Hard work and dedication have been replaced by scorn, discontent, and pure laziness.

Our government no longer works to protect us and do what's best for the people and our nation; instead, the President and the politicians on Capitol Hill are too busy working on their own political and personal agendas, doing what they know will be best for them and ignoring that which the people want. Our rights are constantly being trampled without fear of retribution or punishment, those responsible being safe and secure in the knowledge that those who elected them based on the belief that they'll receive a handout in return will neither turn on them or vote them out of office. So while the handouts continue and the hard-working people suffer, the rich in Washington get richer and the poor continue to be poor despite the promises of prosperity by the ones they elected.

Immigrants to our nation no longer conform or try to adapt to our ways and customs; they now expect us to accommodate and conform to them, expecting us to learn their language and do things their way instead. They object to the display of the American flag at public gatherings, demanding that it be taken down and the flag of their nation flown instead. They are supported by a liberal President and Congress who refuse to support us, the natural-born Americans, choosing the immigrants over their own citizens. Our President and Congress give financial aid to illegal immigrants at the expense of the benefits of those Americans who chose to voluntarily serve our nation in the military, cutting their retirement benefits so this money can be given away to those immigrants who ignore our laws instead.

Our nation is no longer respected in the eyes of the world, our embassies the targets of attack and our ambassadors and citizens killed simply because they are Americans, and our President and Congress sit on their hands and do nothing - just as the world knew they would do.

The world no longer turns to us for help; rather, they turn to us for a handout. And our liberal President and Congress give it to them.

This is the state of the nation in which I know live, and it distresses me greatly that it has come to this. But what distresses me more is the knowledge of two things: first, it's going to get worse before it gets better, and second, when things finally do start to change and the values on which I was raised and in which I believe once again become the way of our nation, it's going to be painful and bloody. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants," and I fully believe that this is what will happen. Lots of good, patriotic Americans are going to shed blood in order to regain our liberty, but along with that the blood of tyrants will also be shed. And in the end run, when it's all over, we'll have our country back.

And it'll be worth it.

IHC

Off to a New Start

Well, it's a new year with new promises and, I'm quite sure, new challenges that will be facing all of us in the months ahead. One of the promises I've made myself which also happens to be one of my challenges is to post on my blog more, something that I've been remiss in for the past several months. (Okay, okay, for the past seven months, all right? Happy now?)

In any event, I'm going to try my best to keep up with my blog this year. I won't make any excuses for not keeping up with it for the past seven months because that's just what they'd be - excuses, and anyone who knows me knows I don't deal with excuses. Reasons, yes, excuses, no. I have also come to realize that I do, in fact, have an audience out there who read my blog regularly and do, on occasion, ask my advice. I was reminded of this today when I checked the stats on my blog and saw the comment from a young mother who wanted my help in explaining a gun-control related item to her daughter. I remember when that happened, and I was quite honored to have been able to help or to have even been asked in the first place, and having re-read that exchange today brought it all home to me.

So to all of you, my fans and readers, I promise that I will do my best to keep my blog current and up to date in the coming year.

With the start of the new year and my newfound motivation and promise to my readers, I think it'd be a good idea at this point to re-iterate a few things about myself and my blog, since it's been several years since this whole thing started. For those of you who either know me or have been reading my blog all along, none of this will be new to you; for the rest of you, this may serve some good and help you put my comments into perspective.

Or not, but whatever, I'm gonna do it anyway.

First and foremost, the views and opinions stated in this blog are my own unless specifically quoted and attributed elsewhere. I write about the things I see going on around me from my "view downrange," voicing my opinions, ideas and concerns in this medium as my Constitutional right guarantees that I can. I don't expect everyone who reads my blog to agree with me, nor do I care. I don't write the things I do to garner public or popular opinion; I write them to get them off of my mind. Do I expect to change the world? No, but I've changed a few lives along the way, and that's good enough for me.

And speaking of differing views and opinions, I realize that he who puts his views and opinions out for the world to see should expect the occasional differing view or opinion. I'm okay with that, I really am. If you disagree with something I've said I'm more than willing to discuss it with you; just post it in the "comments" section and we'll go from there.

What I'm NOT okay with and will not tolerate is said differing view or opinion being voiced in a derogatory, insulting, or immature manner. Do that and I'll delete your comment forthwith and be done with it. Either that, or I'll post it in my blog and then make a monkey out of you for all the world to see. I believe in discussing things in a mature, sane manner and refuse to tolerate anything less from the other person.

I also have little respect, regard, or tolerance for those who choose to enter insulting comments under the "Anonymous" byline. I'm secure enough in my views and opinions to post not only my name but my picture to this blog; if you're so insecure, immature, or ill-informed in your views and opinions that you choose not to post at least your name - your REAL name - to your comments, then I'm not going to waste my time with you. I'll just delete your comments and move on.

I don't claim to be an "expert" on a damned thing. There are certain things I know a hell of a lot about, but as far as slapping the "expert" title on myself, I won't do it. If someone else wants to refer to me as such then that's their call and it's okay with me, but I won't claim the title for myself no matter what the topic. Once upon a time in the Federal Magistrate Court of Newport News, Virginia I was declared in court by the sitting judge to be an "expert" in the areas of RADAR Operation, Field Sobriety Testing, and Breathalyzer Operation, but that was a long time ago - so long ago that there's no way I'd claim to be an "expert" in those areas now. Things change, ya know, like it or not. I do, however, do some research on things as necessary before I start speaking of them. And by "research" I don't mean reading a news report from CNN, MSNBC, or Fox on the internet. I mean doing some real research, finding the information and statistics I need from the people who put them out to begin with, free from the political ideology-motivated slant that most news organizations apply to almost everything they air or print. I do try to look at both sides of a discussion and will admit when I'm wrong, believe it or not, but I'm not gonna believe anything I hear in the news media as the unvarnished truth until I prove that for myself.

Well, I think that just about covers the basics. If I missed something I'm sure it'll turn up later, and if that happens I'll deal with it then.

To those of you who have kept up with my blog for these many years, once again, my thanks. I truly appreciate it, and I promise I'll try to do better this year.

In the mean time, it's my birthday today so I think I'm gonna go have dinner with my wife.

Y'all take care, and I'll see you soon!

IHC